FEED - April 2009
Contents
1. "Green Cuisine" showcases smart pork production in Missouri
2. Periwinkle and tobacco are promising alternatives to pharma food crops
3. Genetic engineering fails to create salt-tolerant crops
4. Righteous Porkchop encourages sustainable eating
5. What You Can Do: Urge Congress to protect antibiotics!
1. "Green Cuisine" showcases smart pork production in Missouri
Years ago, Missouri farmer Russ Kremer nearly died from an antibiotic-resistant infection related to the routine use of antibiotics on his hog CAFO (confined animal feeding operation). He responded by updating his operation to a modern and cost-saving model that houses hardy breeds of pigs in an airy, straw-filled barn with access to pasture, which virtually eliminates the need for antibiotics. The latest edition of our "Green Cuisine" web feature profiles the partnership between Kremer and St. Louis restaurateurs Andy and KT Ayers, the father–daughter team behind Riddles Penultimate Café. The Ayerses were among the first local buyers of Kremer's pork, and they and their customers appreciate its remarkable flavor and juiciness. See our photo slideshow about this partnership, and get a free recipe from chef KT Ayers!
2. Periwinkle and tobacco are promising alternatives to pharma food crops
Two new genetically engineered (GE) plants offer alternatives to the outdoor production of drugs in engineered food crops. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having altered an enzyme in periwinkle plant cells to enable the cells to produce compounds that are entirely new, are hoping to turn the cells into tiny factories that produce new disease-fighting drugs. In Italy, researchers successfully engineered tobacco to synthesize a drug that may be useful in treating type 1 diabetes and other disorders. Producing pharmaceuticals in indoor confined facilities and in non-food crops, as these scientists have done, is safer than growing GE drug-producing food crops outdoors where they may contaminate the food supply. Read more about sensible alternatives to growing pharmaceuticals in food crops. Read more about the periwinkle and the tobacco.
3. Genetic engineering fails to create salt-tolerant crops
Despite 15 years of effort, scientists have yet to commercially produce GE food crops, such as wheat and rice, that grow well in salty soils. Adapting agriculture to salty soils is important because salt accumulates in irrigated soils in dry regions and farmland in coastal areas around the world will become more salty as sea levels rise. A team of Dutch scientists noted in a recent BBC News article that the task of engineering salt-tolerant crops "may be too complex to be achieved." They believe that a better use of resources is to apply modern genetic technology to speed up the process of breeding conventional (not GE) crops that already are adapted to salinity. They also recommended domesticating wild plants that thrive in saline environments for use as food crops. Read the article or see the team's recent article in Science.
| "As genetic engineers attempt to create plants with highly complex traits like salt and drought tolerance, the likelihood of unanticipated and unacceptable genetic side effects increases. Although some of these new GE traits may eventually prove successful, alternative approaches will often be more reliable and cheaper." ~ Doug Gurian-Sherman, Senior Scientist |
4. Righteous Porkchop encourages sustainable eating
A new book, Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms, contrasts the crowded, unsanitary conditions in large CAFOs with the more environmentally friendly practices followed by many small- and mid-sized farmers. Author Nicolette Hahn Niman is an environmental lawyer who investigated and brought suit against North Carolina's powerful pork CAFO industry for the damage it caused to the region's rivers, fisheries, and communities. The book reveals the full impact of the industry on people, animals, and the environment, and includes practical advice for consumers on how to find sustainably produced food, what to look for on labels, and what to ask when dining out. It also tells Hahn Niman's personal story: how she launched a passionate campaign to reform our food system and how she met and married a cattle rancher who shared her vision. Read more.
5. What You Can Do: Urge Congress to protect antibiotics!
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) have reintroduced legislation to address the growing public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) will help protect the effectiveness of antibiotics by curbing the overuse of antibiotics in the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick. A mounting body of scientific evidence links this practice to the rise in antibiotic-resistant diseases in humans, including those caused by Salmonella, Campylobacter, and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. PAMTA will require the Food and Drug Administration to cancel approvals for the routine use of human antibiotics as a feed additive if the uses are found to be unsafe from a resistance point of view. Public interest in the misuse of antibiotics in agriculture was heightened by two recent columns in The New York Times by Nicholas Kristof (see his March 12 and March 15 columns). Learn more about the bill (S. 619, H.R. 1549) and urge your representatives in Congress to support it!
